Parenthood
by TonyDTonyD
Summary: Tony finds out he has a daughter but things go pearshaped when she is kidnapped...
1. Chapter 1

Parenthood

"Grab your gear," said Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs as he strode into his NCIS headquarters.

"Where we goin', boss?" Anthony DiNozzo asked as he, Tim McGee, and Ziva David 'grabbed their gear' and followed him into the elevator.

"Virginia," he answered. The elevator doors closed. "A Corporal Lee Walters has reported her daughter and husband missing."

They got there in record time, but felt like throwing up afterwards- Ziva drove.

"Seriously!" Tony moaned to Gibbs. "How can you let her drive?"

"I'm just glad to back on solid ground," McGee said to no one in particular.

One of Gibbs' famous stares got their act together, and they quickly followed him and Ziva into the fancy two-story house that lay before them.

One look inside made it clear the Corporal's husband and daughter had not disappeared of their own accord.

"Lee Walters," the attractive 30-something blonde introduced herself.

"I'm Special Agent Gibbs," the boss began, "this is my team, Special Agents McGee, David, and DiNozzo."

"D-DiNozzo?" the lieutenant repeated. "As in _Tony _DiNozzo?"

"Yeah," Tony was confused.

"I'm hurt you don't remember me," she said with a tiny smile on her face. "Lee Patterson ring a bell? From Rhode Island Military Academy?"

"Lee!" exclaimed Tony. "Oh, wow! Lee! How are y-"

"When you're done, DiNozzo," Gibbs said sternly. "Two people are missing, you know."

"Oops, sorry boss," DiNozzo scurried off to join Ziva and McGee, who were looking around.

"Ooh, Tony DiNozzo," Ziva said to him. "You actually had a girlfriend who DIDN'T have a husband, or fill your closet with dog crap, or who turned out to be a transvestite? How come I never heard about her?"

"She was my girlfriend in college," he narrowed his eyes. "We only broke up because after graduation she was offered a modelling career, in Paris. And I became a cop. I guess it didn't work out. But the Army was always her backup plan."

"Hmmph," Ziva clicked the camera she was holding up close to his face, which made little stars pop out in front of his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs sat down to interview Walters. "Do you have any idea where your husband and daughter would be, Corporal?" Gibbs asked her.

"No," she answered. "But I do know why they're missing." She sighed and looked glumly into her mug of coffee in her hands. "I'm pretty sure my husband Steve has taken Sophie. It kind of leaked out that... Sophie isn't actually his daughter."

"Do you think Steve has kidnapped Sophie?"

"Yes," she said hesitantly. "Steve...Steve loves money. Sometimes I think...he only married me for the inheritance I received when my parents died." Lee looked at Gibbs. "But I know he would never hurt Sophie. He loves that girl."

"Got something, Boss," Tony picked up a square of lined paper and brought it over to Gibbs, where he read it out loud.

"I have Sophie. If you want to see her alive again, send a million dollars to P.O Box 138 on the corner of George and Main St. You have 5 hours. I will call you when I have the money and Sophie will be yours."

"Oh, my God!" Lee was shocked. "He doesn't care about her. What do we do now? I don't have that much money in the bank. I-I'll have to sell my house or something!"

"I can assure you we'll do everything we can to find your daughter, Corporal," Gibbs said.

An hour or so later, as the team was packing away their evidence and belongings in the truck, Lee pulled Tony aside.

"Tony," she said. "I have to tell you something very important."

"What is it?"

"Sophie is your daughter."

For once, Tony didn't have anything to say.

"I never told you why I quit modelling," she continued with tears in her eyes."I was pregnant. Do you remember the last night we spent together?"

"Oh, God," Tony said, shocked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I knew you weren't ready. YOU knew you weren't ready. It was better if you didn't know."

"You should have told me."

"I know...but as soon as i left Paris, i met Steve. I don't know how he found out...but he was over the moon. I didn't have the heart to tell him that it wasn't his."

"I'm a father," Tony said to himself, laughing. "I'm a father!"

And a smile that could rival the Cheshire Cat's grew on his face.

"We should be tested when we find Sophie, to be absolutely positive," Tony said.

"I've already done it," she said. "When Steve was out of town. Sophie was about two. She's 15 now."

"DINOZZO!" Gibbs bellowed. "Do you wanna walk?"

"On your six, boss!" Tony turned back to Lee. "I have to go. We'll find her, I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

"Abby's got something," Gibbs said after a short phone call from the forensic scientist later that day. "Tony, Ziva, you're with me."

"Gibbs!" Abby looked excited as she trotted towards him. "Ok. This is big, big, BIG news! All over the Walters' living room is this kind of mortar. My theory is someone tracked it all over the carpet with their boots."

"The rest of their house is spotless. And there was no mortar outside the house," Ziva said.

"You'd better give me a reason to give you this Caf-Pow, Abs," Gibbs said impatiently.

"Patience, my silver-haired fox," Abby exclaimed. "The mortar is imported. It's really uncommon here. There's only one place that has it, Lennox Corporation, and it was closed down last month when it went under. It's an abandoned warehouse, located in Annandale, Virginia Gibbs."

"Here's your Caf-Pow," he said with a kiss on her cheek. He turned to the others. "Let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

The tyres screeched as the NCIS car came to a halt outside Lennox Corporation, a small square warehouse in the middle of nowhere.

"I'll go round back," Gibbs said quietly. "You two take the front."

He headed round the side, his gun drawn. Tony and Ziva were a few metres away from the door when it banged open and a small girl ran out and through the bush. She was barely five foot tall but very fit-and fast. Tony and Ziva sprinted after her; Tony got there first and grabbed her around the waist. Sophie Walters struggled to break free against his strong grip.

"Where is Steve?" Ziva asked. She stared at her and realised her eyes were just like Tony's.

"I-I don't know!" Sophie lied. "Let me go! Let me _go_!"

"Not till you calm down," Ziva said, "And tell us where your father is." She cringed at what she'd just said, and glanced at Tony to see his reaction. He only appeared to mind a little.

"I'll get Gibbs," she muttered.

She opened the door and entered. The room was mostly empty except for a few boxes and filing cabinets. Gibbs was on his phone, but hung up when he saw Ziva.

"We got the girl, but she says she doesn't know where Mr Walters is," she said.

"Or is too scared to tell us," Gibbs said.

"Or...is too scared to tell us," Ziva repeated.

"That was Corporal Walters on the phone. She'll be at NCIS within the hour. Let's get Sophie back now," Gibbs instructed. "She'll be safer there."

Meanwhile, Tony had managed to calm Sophie down a little, though she refused to tell him about her kidnappers' whereabouts.

The front door opened again, and Ziva and Gibbs came out.

"We're taking you to NCIS," Gibbs told Sophie.

"What? No!" she cried, and Tony held her to him again. "I have to stay he-" She stopped, and looked at the three of them, frightened.

"Why do you have to wait here, Sophie?" Tony asked her. "Are you waiting for your fath- for Steve?"

"Let's just get out of here," she said. She was kicking herself inside for letting that slip.

"Okay, Tony, you take her back, Ziva and I will wait here for when he comes back," Gibbs said. Ziva started walking Sophie to the truck. "Don't let her out of your sight, and if he calls her-"

"I gotcha back, Boss," Tony said. "But...how's he going to call her?"

"She has a mobile in her pocket," he answered quietly in his ear. Tony nodded.


	5. Chapter 5

The ride back to NCIS was uncomfortable. Tony didn't know what to say to his daughter. He spent a good 10 minutes deciding if he should tell Sophie that Steve wasn't her dad. He decided against it. It seemed like forever in the car, and both of them were secretly relieved when they entered NCIS.

"Well...here's my desk," Tony said brightly. "Have a seat."

She sat down awkwardly in his swivel chair while Tony cleared a space on his desk to sit on. He leaned forward and looked right at her.

"Okay, Sophie, look," Tony began. "Your dad Steve has broken the law. He kidnapped you, and you need to tell us where he-"

"What? No! He didn't _kidnap_ me!" she interrupted. "Are you nuts?"

"Yes, he did," he said calmly. "He left your mother a ransom note this morning."

"Uhh...ok," she said, rolling her eyes. She changed the subject. "Do you have a bathroom somewhere that I could use?"

"Yes, but..." Tony sighed. He wasn't supposed to let her out of his sight. But what could a couple of minutes hurt? The guy's bathroom only had one window, and it didn't open very far. The girl's one would be the same, he thought.

"You got two minutes," DiNozzo said to her. He showed her to the restroom and waited outside. As soon as the door closed, he remembered the phone.

"Ahh, damn," he muttered. "I'll give her two. If she's not out then I'm going in."

He waited. And waited. After two minutes, he tapped on the door.

"Sophie?" There was no answer. He waited another two minutes. When there was still no answer, he opened the door cautiously. The window was open, further than Tony thought. No one was in sight. He wanted to kick himself. He had put his own daughter's life in danger.

He flicked open his Motorola and called Gibbs.

"Boss, she's gone," Tony said, dejected. "She probably won't be back at Lennox Corporation; she knew we would be watching the place. And...she would've called Walters by now, to tell him not to go back." He walked around the bathroom, looking for something, anything, that would help him find Sophie.

"Damn it DiNozzo," Gibbs growled. "I told you not to let her out of your sight."

"I know, Boss."

Then he saw it- a tightly folded piece of paper in the sink. He opened it and read it to Gibbs.

"Special Agent DiNozzo- I believe you. I have to see my father or else he will kill me. I have to meet him at 61 Brier St right now. Please help me. Sophie."

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said. "Meet us outside now. We've just pulled in." He hung up.

Tony sprinted to his desk to grab his gear, and dashed out the building.


	6. Chapter 6

McGee and Abby, who were working together in Abby's lab that day, gave Gibbs directions to the sight.

61 Brier St was an old, run-down house about 20 minutes from NCIS. There were no cars outside, no sign of life anywhere. Once again they staked out the place, Gibbs at the back, Tony and Ziva at the front. They entered, guns drawn, an almost empty house greeting them yet again. At the very back of the house was a locked room. They looked at each other, Gibbs signalled 3, 2, 1, with his fingers and Tony kicked the door open. They found Sophie in a corner on the floor. She looked up, startled, when they entered.

"Sophie!" Tony looked at her and was shocked. The back of her head was shining red with blood; the left side of her face was lined with deep scratches from a heavy object. Her face was wet with tears. He offered her a hand up but she shrunk away, afraid.

Tony sat down next to her while the others gave them a moment alone. He took out a handkerchief belonging to McGee and put it gently against the wound on her head.

"What happened?" he asked her. "Where's Steve?"

"He locked me in here. He said I wasn't his daughter! I-I don't get it...and then he said me and mom were going to get out of his life. He left me in here and he said he's not coming back...he-he's gone and I don't know what he's going to do next," she gasped and new tears spilled down from her eyes. "You have to find her before it's too late!"

"Don't worry; your mom should be at NCIS by now. We'll find him, I promise," Tony stood up. "We have to get out of here." He extended his hand and this time Sophie took it.

So Tony, Ziva, Gibbs, and now Sophie rode back to NCIS headquarters. As they pulled up a horrible sight met their eyes. A crime scene.

Some of the road had been blocked off by yellow police tape. A car was in the middle with a window smashed. There was glass and blood everywhere. Around the outside were federal cars, NCIS and FBI agents, an ambulance, and gawkers. Ducky, Jimmy Palmer, McGee, and Abby were inside the tape. McGee was on his mobile. Gibbs got out of the car first, closely followed by the others, and heard his phone ring. He answered it as he showed his ID and ducked under the tape.

"Gibbs!" McGee had his back to him. "Thank God you picked up! Listen, you need to get back to NCIS right awa-" The sound of beeping cut him off in mid-sentence. "Abby," McGee was practically hysterical. "He hung up on me-"

"That's because I know what you're gonna say, McGee," said Gibbs from behind him.

McGee spun around. "Uh...um...Boss, it's Lee Walters. I-In the car. She was shot about 10 minutes ago, by her husband."

"Oh, my God!" Sophie heard him, though she hadn't made it past the tape yet. "Mom!" Both Tony and Ziva had to restrain her as she furiously tried to make it to the site. "What are you doing? MOM!"

"Sophie," Tony said as she still attempted to free herself, "Sophie, listen to me!" He put one arm around her waist and one across her shoulders. He turned them away from the crime scene. "There's nothing you can do. She's gone."

And with that, her world went blank. She turned to Tony and cried with his arms protecting her body, her very soul, in a long, warm, loving hug.


	7. Chapter 7

"DiNozzo, we found Steve Walters." It was just half an hour since Lee had died. Ducky and Jimmy Palmer had removed her body and were examining her in autopsy. Other NCIS personnel were cleaning up and evaluating the crime scene out the front. Gibbs and Tony were alone in the squad room; Abby had taken Sophie to get a drink and McGee and Ziva were in the field. They had just called Gibbs. Steve Walters appeared to have committed suicide just a few blocks from NCIS.

"She's mine now isn't she, Boss." Tony looked up at him from his desk. "Both parents are dead. There are no grandparents or other relatives. It was just Sophie, Lee, and Steve."

"Here," Gibbs handed DiNozzo an envelope. "This was found in Corporal Walters' car."

He flipped it over. It was addressed to Sophie Lee Walters in her mother's writing. Tony had a feeling he knew what it said inside.

At that moment his daughter came back with Abby. She was still in shock from the day's events, but showed interest in the letter when Tony handed it to her. She opened it carefully and read silently in her head.

_To my darling daughter Sophie_

_I've written you this letter just in case something should happen to me and I can't tell you in person. I'm afraid I have betrayed you and you do not know the whole truth about your identity. The person who you call Dad is not your biological father. A long time ago, when I was in college, I had a relationship with a fellow classmate. We were together for a long time, but after graduation we lost contact and went our separate ways. Soon after, I met Steven Walters and I gave birth to you. I pretended you were his, but a paternity test cleared the air when Steve was out of town. Secrets always seem to leak out somehow, and I just wanted you to hear it from me. I made a terrible mistake, and I won't try and stop you contacting your father. His name is Anthony DiNozzo._

_I love you, Mom_

Sophie had to read it through twice before it made sense. She stared absolutely shocked at Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, wondering if he knew, wondering how this could possibly happen when she had the perfect life less than 24 hours ago.

"Did you- did you know?" she croaked. "That you're my dad?"

"Lee told me this morning," he said. "I hadn't even met you yet."

"Do you know what's going to happen to Steve?" She just couldn't bear to call Steve Dad anymore.

"He's dead," DiNozzo told her.

"So...that means..."

"I'm your legal guardian now," Tony cleared the air. "You're living with me. I hope that's alright."

"Tony," she said after a moments' silence. "I'm glad you're my dad."

It was around 11pm that night. Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, and McGee were finishing up some paperwork of the day's events. Sophie was sound asleep in McGee's chair. Tony practically ordered him to give up his chair, so he was kneeling on the floor and typing. He threw annoyed looks at Tony every so often.

40 minutes passed before Gibbs finally let his team leave. Tony had a funny feeling in his gut. He was now, officially, a real father. He knew the road ahead would not be an easy one, but he was determined to take each day as it came. So he bravely picked up the sleeping Sophie and was set to leave.

"Hey, Tony!" Ziva called after him just as he was entering the elevator. He stuck his foot out to stop the door. She went in and pressed the button for the ground floor.

"Tony," she said. She paused. "I often cared for my little sister Tali when she was Sophie's age. We were usually by ourselves for days, even weeks, so...if you need anything..."

"Thanks," Tony knew what she meant, and was extremely grateful for her help.

"Are you happy, Tony?"

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped out into the NCIS lobby. He turned to her and smiled.

"Yes," he answered. "Very."

Thanks everyone for your awesome reviews! I hope you found this chapter interesting. That's all I have for Parenthood, but if you want me to, I'd love to write a sequel. Or prequel, or whatever it is.


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